Experts have raised concerns over India’s emergency approval of a locally-produced coronavirus vaccine before the completion of trials.
On Sunday, Delhi approved the vaccine – known as Covaxin – as well as the global AstraZeneca Oxford jab, which is also being manufactured in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi touted the approval as a “game-changer” but health experts warn it was rushed.
India’s Drugs Controller General, VG Somani, said the vaccines had been approved for restricted use in “public interest as an abundant precaution, in clinical trial mode, to have more options for vaccinations, especially in case of infection by mutant strains”.
“The vaccines are 100% safe,” he said, adding that side effects such as “mild fever, pain, and allergy are common for every vaccine”.
The All India Drug Action Network, however, said it was “baffled to understand the scientific logic” to approve “an incompletely studied vaccine”.
One of India’s most eminent medical experts, Dr Gagandeep Kang, told the Times of India newspaper that she had “not seen anything like this before”. She added that “there is absolutely no efficacy data that has been presented or published”.
Even social media users were quick to point out that approving the vaccine before trials were complete was a matter of concern irrespective of how safe or effective the vaccine eventually turned out to be.
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Source: bbc.com
